OFF: Better popular bands??

[Paul Mather]

On Tue, 28 Jul 1998, Keith Henderson wrote:

> that's personal taste (and from listening to too much Black Sabbath).  But
> there is one thing about this band that makes it impossible for me to
> recommend....the singer just plain sucks.  His voice is awful, and he sings

I know what you mean about awful singers.  I picked up a used CD by The
Legendary Pink Dots recently, because they'd cropped up on this list.
Nice music, but the singer really got on my wick in no time at all.  His
accent sounds like it's affected (either that, or he's just trying too
damned hard to sound like Syd Barrett!), and his voice sounds too
juvenile.  A classic case of "shut up 'n' play yer guitar!"

> So anyway, there are more names that I see pop up from time to time in
> newsgroups and various mailing lists.  By no means am I against supporting a
> popular band (I'm all for Monster Magnet, etc. making a name for themselves
> in pop culture), so are any of these artists *really* any damn good, and in
> what way...

> Gov't Mule

\begin{mule_evangelism}

Gov't Mule are *THE* power trio of the 90s!  They have excellent
musicianship, and know how to jam hard.  If you like the Jimi Hendrix
Experience, Cream, Mountain, etc. etc. then you'll love Gov't Mule.
That's not to say they are just copyists: they have their own sound, and
have taken the trio format even further.  Their music is heavy, complex,
and jammin'.  Better yet, they really cut it live.  If you like Lemmy's
bass work, you'll no doubt like Allen Woody's handiwork!

Try out their live album, _Live at Roseland Ballroom_, or either of
their studio efforts.  (Although I initially preferred their eponymous
debut, I now actually prefer _Dose_.)  You can listen to MP3 snippets of
_Dose_ on the Gov't Mule WWW site (www.mule.net), in the discography
section.  There's also apparently a link to the *entire* _...Roseland
Ballroom_ album, in RealAudio format, from that site, also (but I
haven't listened to the RA version, since I can't play that proprietary
format on my machine).

Also, the great thing about Gov't Mule is that they sanction taping, and
there are tons of live gigs freely floating around.  Mulers love to
spread around the band's music, often for just blanks and postage (B&P).
There is a permanent tape tree (semi-official) which is a source for
high-quality live shows.  There is also the Mule Pool, which is a WWW
site listing Mule tape traders, most of whom are newbie-friendly.  Links
to all of these can be found from the www.mule.net site.  Lastly, have a
search on the Rolling Stone WWW site, in their concerts archive.  There
are Gov't Mule shows there.

At least with Gov't Mule, you should be able to get an idea what they're
like without spending any $$$.

\end{mule_evangelism}

Off to see Monster Magnet, now...

Cheers,

Paul.

obCD: Orange Goblin, _Frequencies From Planet Ten_

e-mail: paul at gromit.dlib.vt.edu

"I didn't mean to take up all your sweet time"
        --- James Marshall Hendrix